Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been chosen as the face of Nike’s new poster, to mark the 30th anniversary of the brand’s Just Do It campaign. The footballer had protested against the racial inequality and injustice in the US by sparking a wave of ‘take the knee’ national anthem protest after Donald Trump weighed in on the issue. However, Nike’s attempt to favour Kaepernick led to a massive outrage, with a lot of Nike customers deciding to hit back at the brand.

The poster has Colin’s face with the message ‘Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything’. The wide backlash by Nike customers saw clips and pictures of them setting their shoes and clothes on fires, and others cutting out the brand’s famous swoosh logo from their Nike socks. A lot of them threw the shoes in fire pits after wetting them in flammable liquid.

First the @NFL forces me to choose between my favorite sport and my country. I chose country. Then @Nike forces me to choose between my favorite shoes and my country. Since when did the American Flag and the National Anthem become offensive? pic.twitter.com/4CVQdTHUH4

President Trump voiced out against those involved in igniting the fierce debate, and called for the teams to get fined or suspended.

Commenting on the issue and speaking for choosing Colin as the face for the sportswear giant, spokeswoman of Nike, Sandra Carreon-John, said, "Colin has been a Nike athlete since 2011. Colin is one of a number of athletes being featured as part of our 30th anniversary of Just Do It."